The Third War
by Nukey
Summary: 1100 years ago we left our home to escape an enemy. 300 years ago we fought off another intent on destroying us. Now we face our old foes again... in the third war. created from version 2.29 Nomad revenge II
1. Chapter 1: In the begining

_Chapter 1_

_The Ships were ready for immediate launch. The battleship was energizing its weapons, getting ready to attack a special planet of economic achievement, and caring community. The attack squadron approached the northern debris field a couple of hours early and discharged the weapons to transfer power to the cloaking field, so they were invisible, and undetectable._

"_So, Ellis, you say that the Nomads were defeated over 300 years ago, but why do people keep on reporting Nomad ships?" I said. Ellis was a Brunette, slim and slender, and keen to help the needy. I always thought of her as some kind of hero, in that her grandfather, who was the captain of The Battlemark, one of the most advanced cruisers, sacrificed his life to get others out of danger. This was over 300 years ago, as I said. That attack group defeated the Nomads, who have never been seen since then, and thought of as extinct_

"_I though I already told you. They are Nomad ships, but they are wrecked. The only thing is, is that people get freaked out by the sight of them and call for help. Ok, we are approaching the badlands, charge your weapons, just in case."_

_My name is Damon Miller, and I have just joined the Sirius Attack and Response, or SAR as we are known. I am 27, and live on the West Point Military Academy station, which is the main training centre of the protection of Liberty. At the moment, me and my 'partner' are heading to Magellan because a Nomad Wreck was spotted in sector B7, a couple of K from the Secret Magellan Jump gate, erected by the LSF when they needed to get to Freeport 4, for an effective Nomad assault team, which have been moved to the Academy, better known nowadays as SAR, us. Freeport 4 was demolished due to insufficient armour to protect itself from micrometeorites. Now there is an armaments workshop there, Boston Munitions, supplying top of the range ships, guns and equipment._

"_Ellis, would you mind if I docked at Boston once we've done? I have saved up enough credits to buy a HoloHUD Second edition."_

"_Are they out already? I thought that they weren't going to be produced"_

"_Hint, I said second edition. Plus, the old HoloHUDs were too damned complicated to work. These ones are voice controlled. Unlike this damned thing" I said, dropping my fist onto the Heads Up display._

"_So, how did you break it Damon? It was working last week at the race"_

"_I had…errrr…control problems."_

"_What, you hit an asteroid again!"_

"_So what! I only hit it because the Proximity alarm failed to work!" Ellis giggled_

"_You are so dammed helpless without me; thank god your shot isn't as bad as your ship. Wait, let me rephrase that-"_

"_-Oi! Stop it, you'll make me crash in a-"_

"_Proximity alert! Damned rogues!"_

"_What the hell are they in? Those aren't bloodhounds! They are dammed Falcons!_

"_FALCONS! They were all demolished last year, when they failed a safety check. How the hell have they managed to get a hold of them!_

"_I wouldn't know, you're supposed to be the 'Expert'!"_

"_Now's not the time Damon! Engage! Shoot to kill."_

_I flew up the first asteroid I saw, half corkscrewed and came over the top of it upside down, and fired a few shots at the leading ship; his shields absorbed most of it._

"_Damned, they even have class 8 molecular shields! This doesn't look like it is going to turn out good."_

"_I've seen you in evasive training; do you think you can evade these guys for a couple of minutes?"_

"_Hell no, I can no ways do it with these guys, they are just, whoa, too dammed fast"_

"_But if you can hold em off for just two minutes, while I go and get some back up-"_

"_I SAID NO, no WAY can I hold off these guys"_

"_But for two minutes, we can't kill these guys on our own!" I spun the ship around in a half loop and fired at an asteroid, that split in two, just enough for me to pass between._

"_Go now, there's a dust cloud. BE QUICK!"_

_I could barely see through the dust so I looked at my HUD for navigation. I should NOT have done that. The nav map was three dimensional, and sensors detected everything that was within 5k of your ship. The problem was that mine was bust. I transferred the power to my shields, deactivating my guns and lighting. The only thing that guided me now was the occasional spark of light, which gave me a brief view of my surroundings. I saw a large asteroid in the line of my ship, and half looped, to go back the way I had come from. Some loose stones hit the curvature of the wing, and side of the window. I saw through the murk a large rocky shape below me, then a turret whizzed past me, then a window. What the hell! An asteroid with windows? The rogue's base! Not good. Lasers were now flying past me after detecting me through the thick fog of dust, and were disappearing into the gloom. I took a few direct hits, but the shield kept me alive._

"_Ellis, where the hell are you!" I screamed through the intercom_

"_I'm in the trade lane with some escorts, seven of them. Where are you? You aren't on my scanner."_

"_I'm scraping the Bloody Rogue Base. I drifted in the dust"_

"_Get out of there man! You'll get killed!"_

"_I am kind of trying, they are blocking off my routes."_

"_I have you on my scanner; just stay alive for a few more seconds."_

"_My shields are down!"_

"_Just hold o…" I didn't hear the last of that sentence. It seemed to echo into the badlands, along with my thought and determination. The ships engines were hit, throwing me into the straps. The plasma tank ruptured, creating an explosion, which I felt in the vibration of the seat. My escape pod curled itself over me, and pumped itself with air, just before the hull was breached, in that millisecond between the spark and the finale of debris. I saw a bright white light. Was it the end? Was I never going to see 'Home' again? I fell into unconsciousness and dreamt a seemingly never-ending dream._


	2. Chapter 2: captured

_Chapter 2_

_The first thing I noticed was that my skin felt like it was hanging off the bones, until I realised I was in a Compression chamber. A bit like the decompression chambers used for scuba divers, apart from this was used for extreme pressure loss. I assumed I had fallen out of the pod. I closed my eyes again, to try and take away the weird feeling. It seemed to get worse. I turned over and lay face down._

"_He's awake!" a young voice exclaimed. "Sir, he's awake." A pause "The man in the compression chamber." I heard a whiz of mechanical sounds, then my skin seemed to curl back around my bones, and I opened my eyes to see what had happened. The Pumps were pumping air back into the room, and I found it easier to breathe. The door swung open, and a shadow spread over the floor. I asked all the obvious questions._

"_Where am I?"I raised my hand over my eyes, to protect them from the intense light, coming from behind the open door. I squinted my eyes, and looked up at the silhouette of the man standing at the doorway._

"_I am happy to hear you made it. You suffered quite a tragic accident._

"_Who are you?" I asked, getting quite concerned._

"_I am sorry, where are my manners. My name is colonel Griffins. I am leader of the rogues." After that I went through what he just said, over and over in my head._

"_You can't be, we won, you lost, we-"_

"_I know what you are thinking, but we want you, otherwise you would be dead already._

"_What do you mean, want me?"_

"_We want you. We want you to join us."_

"_What, with the rogues? No way!"_

"_No, not with the rogues, with the Maverix."_

"_Who?"_

"_The Maverix. It is a new clan. New to Sirius anyway. Over 1100 years ago, the Solar system, home to our native planet earth, had a secret force, which kept the two sides even. One day, the main station was destroyed by a stray laser, which hit the tanks. The strongest force pushed further, which is why we launched the sleeper ships from earth, in the desperation."_

"_Liar!" I turned around and dropped my head into the palm of my hands._

"_No, my friend, I am not lying. We have kept this a secret, and no one knows apart from ourselves. The Maverix are new. The Maverix are going to destroy the SAR, and bring honest peace to Sirius._

"_Who is part of the Mavrix?"_

"_The Maverix are an allied group of pilots. We are the Rogues, Outcasts, Corsairs, Hackers, Bundschuh, Red Hessians, Junkers and the Nomads in one"_

"_What did you say?"_

"_Yes, we are allied."_

"_No, did you say the Nomads?"_

"_Yes, I did as a matter of fact, and they are due to attack within the hour actually."_

"_Attack who!-"_

"_Yes, you will ask questions, and I will see you again after the battle" _

_With that the door closed, and the mysterious figure was no longer to be seen. This was too much. First I find out I have been captured, then I realise that the nomads are still alive, now they are attacking something! This could be the end. With over half of the population split into two sides, there could be another war, a war in which we fled to avoid in the first place. If the war takes place, the Nomads could strike back. That would be the end of human life in Sirius._

_I tried to get some sleep, but the thought of what was happening at the moment was dreadful. I couldn't stop worrying. All I could do was sit here in this dammed compression chamber, until I was freed. No way was I going to join up with the rogues, or whatever the call themselves, the Maverix. Why can't everything just go back to normality, and be like it was before. Me patrolling Liberty with Ellis. Ellis! She would be fighting the Nomads._

_Last night was dreadful. I couldn't get a wink of sleep. Breakfast had been put on the floor in front of me a couple of hours ago. By now it must be stone cold. I didn't feel hungry, although I felt very tired. I really tried to forget everything. I couldn't. I walked to the door and slammed it with my fists, and kicked the tray into the wall. The cup of water splashed over the floor, spraying everything in it way._

_The door opened a minute later, and the man walked through. For the first time, I saw his face. It was struck with war. He had a large scar across his nose that touched the corner of his mouth. He looked very angry._

"_You will be pleased to know that we were overcome. There was a convoy of liberty's finest battleships, being transported to Detroit munitions, for a replenishment of supplies. They had a detour, for a trade request, made by the general. At that exact moment, the Nomad fleet attacked, and with half of Sirius defending the four battleships, they didn't stand a chance." I didn't reply. "So have you though of my offer?"_

"_Well, it seems I have no choice."_

"_Good. I will let you free. But only in the base. If you are caught outside the base, you will be hunted down and killed. Do you understand?"_

"_Yes." He opened the chamber door, and led me through to the next room, which was covered in gleaming white tiles._

"_This is the medical deck, bang in the middle of the base, mainly for protection against attacks and for convenience." He took me through the ward and I looked into a few cubicles, seeing all of them full. We approached a lift._

"_We are going to go to the control room, which is where I will show you some shocking footage of your comrades." I ignored what he just said, and tried to think of something different_

"_How long have Maverix been around, as there is nothing showing any evidence of them."_

"_We have been around for a couple of days now."_

"_Days?"_

"_Yes. It may surprise you but we have been planning this for over 200 years, apart from the Nomads who are a late arrival."_

"_That reminds me, the Nomads are hostile to all humanoids. Why are they on your side? How did you make contact with them?" The lift doors opened and he lead me onto a platform, which gave a rather spectacular view of the control room from above. Instead of white and grey, like our command room at west point, this seemed almost undoubtedly evil looking. The one way window at the front of the asteroid gave a red tint, and all the lights from the computers were glowing red._

"_We have established contact with the Nomads through this artefact which was found in a lone system called omicron alpha. One of the sleeper ships crashed there, and an unknown force, which I can only describe as a kind of magnetic resistance, pulls all alien artefacts in around the area. The outcasts gave us one piece of artefact, which interested them, and they didn't have the technology or resources to analyse it. So we gladly took it into our hands. This artefact was approximately two hundred and eighty four billion, billion years old. It has been to over four hundred galaxies, one of them was 'the solar system'. It picks up and stores any frequency it can detect. We were fascinated by the fact it could hear a human whisper at planet Denver from here. It is basically a translator, which has been forgotten about. About seven months ago, we decided to test it out. We went over to Alaska, and tried to get a signal to the Nomads. It worked, and their reason for attacking us was that all of Sirius belonged to them before, and they wanted it back. We explained to them, and discussed with them until we came to an agreement. If they helped us bring peace to Sirius, they could get back all of the outer systems, like Alpha." Griffins licked his lips and took a sigh._

_Once on the main control deck, Griffins ordered all the technical experts out of the room, and told them too isolate us. One of the technicians punched some digits into a small panel, which activated a separating screen. It lowered from the roof, and looked as if it was made of the same stuff as the glass showing the badlands._

"_I want you to sit in this chair, and let me restrain you. I don't want you to panic and get yourself killed." I sat in the chair that was in front of a hologramic projector. Griffins tied my hands to the chair, and injected me with some adrenaline, so I didn't fall asleep half way through the hologram. Then he stood back, and shouted one word at the computer: 'Commence'. A large circular wall rose from the ground, and it created a room of my own, of about two metres in diameter. The hologram started, and the movie began._


	3. Chapter 3: First Mission

_Chapter 3_

"_No, I can't be, no. It's not true!" I was locked in a cell, which he told me to expect after the projection. "It's all lies, I tell you, LIES!" my face was going red from the shouting. I had been put into a padded cell, and I was shouting at the door. "It can't be." I slid down the wall with my back to it, and cried into my hands. I had been told that the longer I denied, the crazier I would get, and the least lifetime I would have, not that 150 years wasn't enough in the first place. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. It couldn't be true. First, I saw a robbery of an armoured transport, which was escorted to the wrong place by three SAR escorts and attacked, taking its money and very rare cargo. They left the pilots to die. All the incidents were like this. Where they got the footage from was unknown. I was told, whilst in a mental mood, that scouts were cloaked and sent out to see what they could help out in, or to record, in these cases. I don't think help out is the right word._

_I waited for ages, I don't know how long. I sat and took in everything that had happened over the past few days. This has got to be the most stressful week of my life! Why did they have a padded cell in a criminal base anyway? All this didn't fit together._

"_How are you coping?" it was that all familiar voice, blaring through the speakers._

"_I've calmed down."_

"_We will let you out soon, don't worry" The voice didn't speak again. I had decided to be nice with these people; I had no choice really unless I wanted to die._

_The door opened and griffins came in and with two armed guards. I stood up and walked over to him, on his command. He unclipped the straps and I took off the straight jacket. I shook the cramp out of my arms._

"_From now on, I'm not going to be mister nice guy, as I have work to do. These guards will escort you to the docking bay, and give you a ship. You will be pleased to know that it is one of the best fighters in Sirius."_

"_What is it?"_

"_It is a Trident very heavy fighter, with few guns on it. You will need to travel to omicron alpha, and take some equipment from the Outcast base"_

"_Malta? That's now under control of SAR!"_

"_I know. The wreck Hispania has been converted into the Outcast base, after they were forced out of Malta. You will travel there within the safety of your Clocking field, and enter the base. They will be expecting you. We have uploaded the coordinates into your computer, and it will guide you there via the safest route. Remember, you shall be destroyed if you don't follow the exact route._

"_Ship 3 x 5 1. You are clear for immediate launch." That was me. I eased down on the throttle and glided out of the main hanger into the launching bay. The airlock door closed and I waited for a few seconds, while the air was pumped back into the base. The gate in front opened and I blasted into the badlands._

"_This is ship 3 x 5 1. I am clear of buffalo, and proceeding to the Texas jump hole" I looked down at the controls, and admired the ease of the trident's handling. I still missed my old ship. I was trying to forget about that now._

"_Ship 3 x 5 1, this is Maverix 70. I have been ordered to escort you to Aleutia. You shall take lead."_

"_Received Maverix 70. But shouldn't we head to Galileo to go to Aleutia?"_

"_Negative. A recently found jump hole was found in sector E5/6, that leads to the centre of Aleutia." That's why I though that the waypoints were wrong. We came to the Texas jump hole and my escort let me through first. I hated going through jump holes. It made me dizzy. And I felt sick, every time. I didn't do it on jump gates though. They are different to jump holes in an unknown way. Some kind of natural force, not yet detected. I came out of the worm hole structure, and glanced my eyes at the asteroids, motionless in the nothing of space. My escort came through a few seconds later, and ushered me towards the next waypoint; the new jump hole. _

"_Ok. I have the jump hole in sight. Now is the time to switch on your cloaking field." he responded. I flicked the switch and watched my escort disappear._

"_Head towards the jump hole, and head through, I'll meet you on the other side." The hum of the engines was still detectable, but that isn't problem in space, due to there being no air. The cruise engines on the trident were slower to charge than my old ship, but they pushed me faster, at a decent 350k, rather that the normal 300. I reached the jump hole in a couple of minutes, and slowed to a crawl. I docked with the jump hole. And again, the sick feeling came back to me as I passed through the worm hole. This time, I vomited into the side bag, which I sealed off and jettisoned it when I came out of the jump hole. There's a nice present for someone! I recovered quickly, and took the course of the omicron alpha jump hole._

"_Damon, can you hear me?" my escort asked_

"_How did you know my name?"_

"_Come off channel chat, and connect to channel 7.565" I did as he said and he continued speaking._

"_God it's a long time since I have seen you."_

"_Robin! Is that really you?"_

"_You remembered! Thank god. I may have a chance to get out of here at last!"_

"_What do you mean, everyone back at west point thought you were dead, besides, I have just realised that SAR are actually pirates."_

"_He showed you the videos?"_

"_Yeah, in that weird control room."_

"_Dammed, he showed you that?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_All of that was that same guy all the time – it was me."_

"_What!"_

"_When I went missing, the rogues captured me and forced me to do that stuff; it was all staged!"_

"_Who were the other people?"_

"_They were rogues in captured ships."_

"_You are kidding me!"_

"_I wish I was man. Have you heard about this new formation? The hayricks or summit along them lines."_

"_Yeah, the Maverix. Is all that lies as well, the Nomads being involved?"_

"_No, that is true, but the rest is pure bull."_

"_What about that attack that happened a few days ago?"_

"_The one on Manhattan?"_

"_Manhattan! I wasn't told the location; I was only told that there was going to be an attack! Were you there?"_

"_For half of it, I was called in for back up."_

"_Jesus, how many killed?"_

"_I don't know." We travelled in silence for the rest of the trip, I wasn't sick this time, going through the jump hole, but I did feel queasy._

"_There it is. The Hispania." I glared at the wrecked ship, which looked as elegant as if it was still intact._

"_Is there really a base in there? It looks far too small"_

"_We are still over 33 k away from it"_

"_Ahh, I didn't see the distance gauge. Jesus, it must be huge in that case!"_

"_Okay, we are nearly in radio range. Speak to you soon." I couldn't believe that Robin was here! I closed the line and concentrated on looking out for loose debris. I saw a couple of patrolling SAR patrols ahead, and swerved to avoid a collision._

"_Ship 3 x 5 1. You are in radio and scanner range of Hispania base. Please continue radio silence to prevent detection." I approached the base and was ordered to take off my cloaking field. I saw Robin take his off a couple of seconds later, just behind me. Wow. The Hispania was huge! I approached it and felt I was about to crash into it, but to find out I was still 5 k away. I saw a small gate open in front of me and glided into it. The gate closed and the hiss of the air lock came into hearing range. The air lock door opened and I 'parked' the trident into the docking bay, and switched off the engines._

"_Welcome aboard the Hispania Mr Miller." An outcast said to me. "My name is Sergeant Helot, and I was told to be expecting you and equip your craft. So, what would you like?"_

"_Err, well, ummm…"_

"_Let's see if I can help you out. Follow me. This guy was short and had a German accent. He led me into a small warehouse area. The first thing I noticed was that it was very cold. I was shivering. Then I noticed some escape pod like structures. They weren't escape pods though. These were the remains of the freezing cabins, used by people that fled from earth, over eleven hundred years ago._

"_Here are our main weapons." I looked at the rows of labelled shelves, and looked at each tag, to see what it contained._

"_What type of set up would you like?"_

"_An offensive fully filled set up with energy changing capabilities and a super heavy capacitator unit mark VIII." The man blushed. Basically, that set up meant I had a huge power plant that could change the set up of the weapons, so the energy levels could be differed for separate guns, meaning I could power up the shield destroying guns and blast the enemy's shields to tiny fragments then transfer the power to the hull destroying guns. Logical and effective…when you have the right guns._

"_Good choice Mr. Miller. You know your set up. What about the guns?" I walked along the corridor, looking at each tab._

"_Ill take…2 PYRACTIC's, 2 Tizona del Cid. Also, I'll have a novaslayer torpedo launcher; two GUARDIANS' mounted on a curler with two Mark III long beams mounted on the other side of each curler." Curlers were new. They took up 10 of your cargo space each though. Basically, you could mount two guns on the curler, and connect one gun up. Whilst the other is inside the cargo hull. Then you could spin it so that the other gun is connected, and the first is in the cargo hold. "I'll also have two cannonball missile launchers, mounted in the mines slots and on the countermeasure slot._

"_What shield would you like, and your equipment?"_

"_I'll have the civilian class 10 molecular shield, with extra long tractor beam, extra long scanner, 50 bats and bots, and the best boosters, et cetera. Also, I would like special modified armour" modified armour made the ship totally stealthy, so missiles couldn't lock on._

"_Good choice. We will fit your ship with all you requirements, in the mean time, I would suggest you go and get some rest. You can never be prepared for anything, but being alert helps dearly."_

_With that I walked off into the main hanger, and turned off to head for the bar. I walked up to the barman and asked if there were any free bunks available, deciding against that drink in the last second. He pointed to a door, back the way I had come. I walked back out of the bar, staring at my ship, and spotted Robins next to it. I walked through the door. I sign on the wall read: Quiet. People at rest. Why didn't I have that on my dormitory door? I walked to the nearest open bunk and sat on it, set my watch to wake me up with an electric shock, and went to sleep._


	4. Chapter 4: Outnumbered

_Chapter 4_

"_Aaaggggghhhhh" Jesus Christ that hurt. No wonder it woke you up. I rubbed my wrist and heard everyone around me complaining from my sudden scream. I put my watch back on, after tapping it on the metal railing to release any charge still on it. My shoes were under the bunk and I slipped them on before, checking the time. Time was taken from a woman who wore a watch on one of the sleeper ships, the only one still running. Eleven hundred years later, they still hadn't improved the watches much, apart from added extras. The electric shock being one of them._

_I walked to the door and passed through it, turned up to the hanger and made it just in time to see the last part on the ship being mounted._

"_Excellent timing Mr Miller, you ship is just about ready. Have you eaten in the past few days?_

"_Yes, I ate before I got some kip" I lied, I didn't like this guy._

"_Oh, doesn't matter, we can meet up some other time. Would you like to test this before you leave?"_

"_Where?"_

"_Out there on some live opponents."_

"_You mean the SAR ships?"_

"_Precisely." The thought of killing my old friends was dreadful. It still haunted me, especially now that Robin had just 'appeared out of the blue'._

"_Have you uploaded the co ordinates?"_

"_Yes. They will take you to a jump hole, stay nearby it, under the cover of your cloaking field, then, when one appears. Pounce!" I didn't like this one bit, but I didn't want to show I was scared. _

_I climbed up the side and clambered into the cockpit. They had everything done up perfectly. On my left hand side, there was a computer panel, with several 'levers' which adjusted the amount of power for each gun; the ones that were on the top side of the curler were reddened out, with enable written on the red bars. Wow. This was good. More than good, it was a bloody good job, and I liked it. On my right was the enable/disable system, so I could deactivate some weapons to give more power, as well as energy to the others. A gun needed power to run it, and energy to run the ammo. The more power, the better the range would be. But strangely enough, the capacitor unit produced all this. I never did like engineering. I disabled all the guns, and transferred power to the thrusters, on a different panel, above my head. As soon as I fired up the engines, the HoloHUD 2nd edition came online. Nice! And I got all this for free! I hope._

"_This is Ship 3 x 5 1, I am clear of the gate and have a heading of 059° magnetic."_

"_Roger Ship 3 x 5 1. Enable cloaking field and continue course. Good luck" I don't know why people called it a 'magnetic' bearing, as there was no magnetic field around you, unless you were on a planet. Anyhow, I suppose all nav maps are pointing in the same direction, so it just stuck. North is up, south is down._

_When I was clear of the Hispania, I engaged the cruise engines, gutting all power from guns and lighting. The shield was changed to anti – collision protection; it was given different particles to the normal molecular style._

_Five minutes into the journey, I came across the asteroid field, and had my hand on the joystick. Just in case. It was starting to bug me now why I hadn't seen any nomads yet. Were they going to send me to a nomad base? I doubted it. For now anyway. I concentrated on the asteroid field. The Jump hole was just ahead now; I could see it, tucked behind an asteroid about the size of my ship. That would be my hiding place. I turned off the auto pilot, and deactivated the cruise engines. Then, I glided round behind the asteroid and waited there, with all systems shut down apart from my HUD and my cloaking field. _

_I waited there for about ten minutes, before one of them came out of the Jump hole and stalled from the sudden deceleration. Then another. Then another. Jesus, how many are there? Then a battleship. Oh crap. Battleships could detect ships behind a cloaking field, with their infra red sensors, detecting heat. For a few seconds it sailed on, before stopping in its tracks. Its escorts spread out, into combat manoeuvres, like the way I had seen in combat training. I had been spotted. I decided to wait it out, maybe they might think it was a hot asteroid.. I slowly drifted around the back of the asteroid, using as little energy as possible, to prevent any excess heat._

_The battleship fired a shot at the asteroid which exploded into tiny fragments. He knew my position. I had one choice. The Jump hole. A quick dock would give me time, as the battleship would take ages to turn around…especially in an asteroid field! The guns were aiming at me. One false move and I was dead. I waited a bit longer. I saw a fighter break free, and start shooting at me. But the lasers were passing way over my head. Was it a warning? Then another one did the same thing. I looked the other way, towards the direction of the laser fire. And I saw a wing of fighters. Strange they weren't on my nav map. They came closer, and the SAR still hadn't destroyed even one! They were drones! Hologramic versions of a ship. But who was projecting it? I realised that someone knew I was there, and I made a break for it. I powered the thrusters, and the battleship immediately noticed the heat from its infra red sensors. I boosted towards the jump hole, using only my thrusters. It was firing at me. Come on. Come on! I was metres away from the jump hole. I hit the green button on the right hand screen._

""_Dock in use. Entering queue""_

"_Oh no" that is clever. One of the fighters was in a holding dock. Unable to shoot, but reverse thrusting, so that he didn't dock. If I could take him out the-_

""_Shields failed!"" oh god, I transferred the power to the shields, and blasted some of the bats into the shield. Phew. No hull damage. That was lucky. I won't be lucky again. My cloaking shield deactivated, and the fighters started shooting at me._

"_Get out of there man!"_

"_Robin! The dock is in use, I can't get out!"_

"_You have to fight. I'm 5 k away, I'll help you out. Get the battleship's defence weapons, then its life support systems." I enabled the two long beams, and a small loading bar came up. 5 seconds remaining. Now is not the time to be waiting around! Those five seconds seemed to last forever, as I was dodging like mad, keeping one eye on the loading bar. Finally. I heard the click of the guns connecting to the main energy supply. Back on the weapons screen, the two guardians had turned red_

_Outside, it was chaos. Lasers here and there. I was waiting for Robin to appear, as when I made my run for the battleship, I would be vulnerable whilst travelling in a straight line._

"_Where the hell are you?" I screamed through the headset_

"_Only 3 k away, I am already in scanner range." He was in scanner range, but he was also almost impossible to read from all of the other ships around me._

"_Okay, I'll start to shoot, attract attention. When the fighters start to lay off you, target the life support systems." shrieked Robin. That was clever. Once the life support systems were down, all the human operated turrets would automatically deactivate, and save energy for oxygen. That would be about a third of the guns deactivated._

_I corkscrewed behind an asteroid, which exploded, throwing fragments all over my ship. Then dummied to go up, but banked away from the battleship. Once it was directly behind me, I did a half loop-screw; my favourite move. It was half a loop, in which you complete three and a half spins of a corkscrew. You always came out of it the same way up as you entered it. If you did it right._

_Now the battleship was directly in front of me, and I turned my nav map into 'wire frame' mode, enabling to see the vital parts of each ship around you, disturbingly showing your own as well. Its life support was underneath the ship, in front of the docking bay doors. A hard target. I would have to get a curl from a novaslayer to finish it off. The nav map targeted the life support systems. Whilst I was dodging, I flicked the nose up, and then back down again. At the peak of my decent I launched the torpedo. It curled up, and turrets started to shoot it. Dammed. They got it. Ill have to take out the auto turrets first_

"_Robin, what's your status?"_

"_I am at half shield strength and haven't sustained any major hull damage yet. How about you?" I flicked my eyes at the status screen. _

"_I have about the same as you. How do I take out the auto turrets?"_

"_Have you taken out the life support?"_

"_I need to take out the auto turrets to get to the life support."_

"_Ahh, crap. Come at it from the side, and then hit it about 40 from the nose, dead in the centre. If you are lucky, it may trigger a chain reaction, so don't hang around!"_

"_Gotcha!"_

_I swung the ship around and banked to my left. The ship rattled a few time, as I took a few hits, but the shield did its job, and absorbed the shock. I plugged a few bats into the shield, and gave it a bit more life. Then I banked behind another asteroid, expecting it to explode, so I kept my distance. When I came back out of the bank, the battleship was starting to begin evasive manoeuvres. This was my chance. It turned so that its broadside became exposed to me. Bad move!_

_I moved the power levels slightly off the shields onto the guns, and on the other panel, I upped the energy of the long beams and the PYRACTICs. Automatically, the unchanged levers went down, to avoid a power overload. I pounded the area directed to me, and hoped that something would happen. I was getting too close. The guns were about to overheat, when a huge fireball erupted out of the side of the battleship, immediately extinguished by lack of fuel. Debris was pouring out of the giant hole, as well as bodies. I banked and passed centimetres away from it, targeting the Life support system as I went, when the whole this blew. I disappeared into a mass of fire and debris, as the battleship split into two unequal halves._

_I spun my head around to see what had happened, and I saw that the nose of the come away from the rest of the ship. I banked around to finish it off, when another huge fireball erupted out of the middle sections – the engine room. Then the bridge exploded, and broken glass was floating everywhere. I was so amazed at the display in front of me; I was totally unaware that I was only a few metres away from hitting some asteroids. For the finale, a mass of fire and broken debris, parts of ships, equipment and escape pods in the shape of a sitting humans, blasted out of the hanger door underneath the remains of the ship, splitting the remaining part into another two parts._

"_Woohooo! We showed them alright. I love a bit of fun in the morning, what about you?" Cheered Robin_

"_I don't know what I feel. I mean, they were us. How can you cheer like that?"_

"_Sorry man, I got a bit carried away, I know what you mean. C'mon. Let's get back. I suppose there will be a reception waiting for us." Hmm. I wasn't too sure. I mean how can two fighters kill three fighters and a battleship, with virtually no damage at all? Maybe they were underpowered, and had just got back from a major battle. Something wasn't right. Me getting all the best equipment for nothing. I also felt bad about how I had killed over fifty innocent men._

"_Wait, Robin, shouldn't we rake up the important stuff?"_

"_We haven't got enough cargo space between us."_

"_We can dragnet it back!"_

"_Whilst in cover of our cloaking shields?_

"_Good point." We carried on in silence, reflecting on what had just happened. I hoped that it would never happen again. When we reached the Hispania, I let him dock first. I saw the docking bay door close, and a couple of minutes later, it opened again, to let me through. I docked, and got out of my ship. Robin's ship was over in bay 2, but there was no sign of him. I decided to get a drink instead of some kip. Then I went to bed. This time, with my alarm on instead of the shock._


	5. Chapter 5: Unexpected Visitor

_Chapter 5_

_For the first time in a while, I had a dream. A pleasant dream. I dreamt of being back with Ellis and patrolling New York, just like the old times. It turned out to be a nightmare until I realised that I had woken up. I looked at my watch, and mentally noted in my brain the time of 4:29. I lay on the scratchy bunk, looking up at the ceiling. I would never get back to sleep now. Instead, I settled for deep thought._

_Two hours later, whilst I was staring into space, my alarm went off. I reached to my watch and turned the ghastly sound off. After a couple of minutes, I forced myself to get up, and I gathered some clothes and went to have a shower. The fresh water was a pleasure on my rough skin. A guy called from in the shower area._

"_Mr. Miller? Are you in here?" I though about weather I ought to keep my mouth shut, but I decided against it_

"_Yeah, what do you want?"_

"_I have a message for you."_

"_Put it in my hand." I stuck my hand around the side of the divider, and he put a piece of paper in my hand. I brought it into the cubicle, careful not to get it wet. This is what it read._

Authorised personnel only.

Copied for Robin Caper, Damon Miller and lt. Brian parker

ORDERS

You have been requested to co operate in an important confidential mission, which is not included in this transmission for obvious reasons

You are to proceed to the interview room on deck four at 7:30 pm of the day you receive this transmission.

ANY REFUSALS WILL BE IMMEDIATELY EXCECUTED. YOU HAVE NO CHOISE. END

Signed: Captain Mills.

_That was a shock. Robin was in it as well. Maybe it was for us especially as we were captured. I really had no choice. I'd better be there at 7:30 sharp if it was that important. I got out of the shower and grabbed a towel. I re-read the letter to make sure I didn't miss anything out._

_The rest of the day I spent my time checking out the Hispania in greater detail. It was massive, that was for sure. And you could see the old freezing chambers everywhere. It was 6:00 when I finished the search, and went to get some grub. I had some tasteless 'protein poison' which was filled with protein and other helpful ingredients. At 7:15, I made my way to deck four, and was let in. The captain complimented me for arriving early, and we sat down to wait for the others to turn up._

_At dead on 7:30, the others arrived, including the lieutenant. The guard shut the door, and we all sat down. The captain started to talk._

"_I have called you here for a special mission, as said in the transmission I sent. We have recently acquired a range of Rhineland capital ships, and have outfitted them all with cloaking devises." We all passed looks. "Our mission is to drive the SAR out of omicron alpha. We need all the best pilots we can get. This is why we chose you three. There are others, but none here are worthy apart from you. Besides, each battleship can only hold a certain amount of fighters and bombers. Any questions before I go on?" Robin raised his hand._

"_How many people are involved in this operation, including the operators?"_

"_There are just under one thousand people involved in this task." I raised my hand._

"_In that case, how many Cap ships do you have exactly?" Robin nodded at my question and it got answered._

"_Well, we have seven battleships, seventeen cruisers, and thirty four gunboats, so forty one in total."_

_The lieutenant swore in disbelief. I leant back in my chair a little._

"_I will carry on. Tomorrow, we will launch at 4:00 and arrive at Malta within the hour. There will be several squads containing a Battleship, two to three cruisers and four to five gunboats. Each battleship will have about 60 pilots. You three will be in fighter squadron Bravo. Lieutenant, you will be the wing commander, as you are the most experienced pilot._

"_Our plan is to surround Malta so there is no escape for the SAR. You will be contained in Battleship Shakespeare. You are to be expected aboard the ship at twenty one hundred hours today. Make sure your ship is safely docked, and then you will sleep aboard. Any further comments?" I raised my hand again "Mr. Miller"_

"_How do you manage to hide that many capitol ships?" everyone leant forward, ready to listen to what was about to be said._

"_Well, you can only access military areas from secret passages. Or from space, but both are well protected. If you have had a look around, you may think that this place is huge, but you were only allowed to see a third of it. The rest is strictly military, and no one civilian even knows about it. You will receive the location of one of the passages. Any more questions?" No one raised their hands. "Good, dismissed!"_

_I walked out of the room behind Robin, and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked around, and I ushered him into a corner._

"_What are we going to do?" I asked him. He looked past my shoulder, checking if anyone was there._

"_We are going to do as we are told. No way can we swap sides now, it's too risky."_

"_Yeah, and who is this Lieutenant? Is he captured as well?"_

"_No, I think he is criminal as he's ranked and we aren't."_

"_Good point. How about we meet in an hour, and walk to the Shakespeare together."_

"_Yeah why not, I'll see you outside the bar at half eight." He patted me on my shoulder and walked off. I watched him walk down the corridor, not believing that he was here._

_I met Robin at west point whilst training and we had become good friends during that time. Then, when we qualified, he went missing and hadn't been seen since. That was three years ago. Everyone thought he was dead. His parents even had a service for him, and bought a coffin._

_I walked off in the other direction, heading for the equipment dealer. Something had been bothering me. How did I manage to get some top of the range weapons for free? It must be a dodgy deal, unless they took it out of my wages, which would explain no payment yet. I got to the equipment door and thought about what I was going to do. Then I realised, how can you sell a dodgy gun? It had to be real. Maybe they wanted me really bad, so they gave all the stuff free._

_In the end, I decided against the protest, and headed for the bar as it was the only _worthy_ alternative. I backed away from the door and walked off back down the corridor, my feet tapping on the metal girded floor. I looked down through the tiny squares, and saw the deck below, noticing that it was the shopping deck. Two people were standing against the wall, and were whispering to each other, looking around them suspiciously. As far as I could tell, they were civilian, but from this angle, I could see down their long coats, and saw a rifle! I panicked. There weren't any guns allowed on civilian decks. But these guns looked different from the ones that of the military based here. These were familiar in some kind of way. They were SAR guns! Bloody hell, what were they doing here. How did they get in?_

_I looked around me, and knelt down to the ground. I listened in on their conversation._

"…_are launching soon. We have a convoy ready to meet them. Operation genesis will work, and when will our extraction meet us!"_

"_Tonight at ten. Apparently, two of our own men are here, held captive. One lieutenant Brian Parker, and one Damon Miller, we want them back." I stood up again, almost stunned at what I heard. So the lieutenant _was_ a captured person from the SAR, but what about Robin? Do they think he is dead? I ran off, headed for the bar, it was 8:25, and I was running late._

_At the bar, Robin was already there, and he saw me run in. he obviously saw something in my face._

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Nothing, why?"_

"_No, there is something wrong, what is it?"_

"_I kept silent for a minute, wondering if I should tell him what I saw._

"_Follow me." I walked over to the corner seat, and ushered him to sit down. I sat down myself, and spread my hands over the table surface._

"_SAR is here." I whispered_

"_What!"_

"_Yes, and they are looking for me and that lieutenant."_

"_Well, what about me? Are they looking for me?" he looked me in the eye, and I tried to look as comforting as possible._

"_They didn't mention your name"_

"_What do you mean, did you meet them?"_

"_No, I eavesdropped on them, I was directly above, and listened in through the grills. They are being extracted at err, ten I think. That's what they said."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yes" he paused._

"_We'd better get to the Shakespeare. Come on, I was told to show you one of the secret entrances, we'll talk later." We got up, and walked over to the bar, and placed our empty glasses on the side. He led me to the dorms, and pointed at the floor. There was a trap door in the carpet, which had metal edges to it, and carpet in the middle as well. It said 'MAINTENANCE ONLY' on the top. He opened it up, and walked down it; I followed, and closed the door. We walked blind until a light came on automatically, as a sensor became aware of our bodies._

"_This is all I was told, to come to this trap door. Your guess in which way to go now." I reached the bottom of the stairs, and we were standing on a raised canopy above a cavern type structure. I held onto the railing, and walked up to a crossing, going left and right both at ninety degrees. I went straight to the edge and leant over the railing, and there it was; the battleship Shakespeare was right in front of us. Beyond that was another battleship. And another. And another. In total, there were seven battleships, all in a line next to each other. There were tiny figures on top of each battleship, either cleaning it, or fitting turrets and maintaining it._

_I looked over to the engine end of the battleship, and saw the rest of our 'Squad'. Three cruisers and four gunboats. I looked at robin, and he caught my glance._

"_Holy crap, he wasn't joking when he said just a few!" we walked to the left, and a man met us half way._

"_Good evening Mr. Miller and you Mr. Caper. Follow me, your ships have been loaded into the Shakespeare, and are in docks 12 and 13. I'll take you to your sectors." We walked along the canopy, which was held up by wires right above the Battleship, and we came to some part of the canopy with a swing barrier and a panel. He pressed a button on the panel, and a lift came up to greet us a second later. We all got in, and descended to the bottom. Now the Battleship towered above us, as we walked through a sliding door, entering the battleship. This was it. I'm working for the bad side. That's not something you would say everyday._


	6. Chapter 6: Deck Five, Sector Three

_Chapter 6_

_Once on board the battleship, we were showed our sectors. Robin had come over to mine to discuss what we ought to do, talk about what the SAR was doing here._

"_The thing I can't work out is how they got in. I mean, they can't come in their own ships, and they defiantly cannot_ _come in from nowhere." I said_

"_They could have sneaked into a cargo hold somehow." _

"_Yeah, we'll go for that. But how did they get their guns through the metal detector? That's impossible."_

"_What if they went around them, through the equipment dealer's door?"_

"_Yeah, that can be added too. So, they arrive in a cargo hold, and manage to get around the metal detectors instinctively. They must have had inside information. Think, who." I thought about all the people I had met recently on the Hispania._

"_The lieutenant! He _must _be our guy. Do you know where he is kept?"_

"_No, but I can find out from the guy who showed us around. Stay here; make yourself a drink if you want." I had brought in some old whiskey and glasses, and he poured himself a centimetre in the bottom._

"_Careful with that stuff, it's deadly. We've got a battle tomorrow, so don't get blasted on it." I looked him in the eye as serious as I could_

"_Cool it, I'll be fine. Go on and find that guy. Bring him here if you can." I looked at the bottle and saw that it was about a centimetre above the label height. Then I left and headed for the Colonel's quarters._

_I approached the door and gave it three knocks. They followed by a sharp answer_

"_Come in!" I opened the door and peered around the edge. "What do you want?" He shouted. I came into the room and closed the door behind me._

"_Sir, I would like to know in which sector our wing leader is in. Lieutenant Brian Parker is his name"_

"_Hold on a minute." He opened one of his drawers and pulled out a file. On the top, it said PERSONEL NOTES. He flicked to the 'P' section and handed me a piece of paper._

"_Lieutenant Brian Parker is on deck 5, wing 3. You should see his name tad on the door." I handed him the file back._

"_Dismissed!" I turned my back and walked out of the door. Deck 5 wing three. Ok, the lift is somewhere around here. I saw the sign on the ceiling. Lift three hundred metres left. I went around the corner and ran to the lift. ""OUT OF ORDER"" Ahh, crap. That had to happen today. I ran past my sector and headed for the stairs. 465 stairs later, I was on deck five. I went past the lift and saw a bloke come out of it._

"_Now that is just taking the piss!" I shouted. The bloke turned around._

"_I'm sorry what did you say?"_

"_Oh, nothing, it's just that I though the lift was out of order."_

"_Oh, that sign on deck one is still there?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_It should have been taken down by now mate, unlucky"_

"_Thanks for letting me know." He turned back and walked off. Ok, now on to wing three. I was at wing twenty at the moment, so I needed to go to the other end of this huge corridor. Instead of wearing myself out, I walked there. It took me in all about five minutes. I came to wing three and turned down its passage, seeing Lt. Parker on the door. I knocked three times._

"_Who is it?"_

"_A member of your wing, Damon Miller." There was a pause_

"_Oh, hello. Come in, the door isn't locked." I pushed on the handle and the door swung open without a sound. He wasn't in the main living area, so I assumed he was in the bathroom. I looked around. His room was exactly the same as mine, and all the cupboards and closets were in the same place as well. I noticed the door open and the lieutenant came in._

"_So, how can I be of service?" He said. I looked at him with concern_

"_Me and my friend Robin want to have a chat to you. Would you mind coming to my sector for a few minutes? I must add that what we want to say is quite urgent." He looked a bit mystified._

"_Sure, why not. Lead the way." I turned and walked to the door, opened it and walked through into the corridor. Whilst he locked the door, I looked around at what was in the corridor. There were gas vents at regular intervals and the carpet was a dull grey colour which didn't quite reach the edges of the corridor. The corridor itself was a circle with a floor put at the bottom to square it off. It was barely wide enough for three people, but there was plenty of head room. Underneath the floor, in the cut out half of the circle, electricity wires and pipes led to different rooms and other places like the shower rooms._

"_Ok, let's go. What deck are you on?" He said_

"_Deck one. We'll take the lift." I walked on, and he followed me up to the lift. I pressed the button and waited for the lift to arrive._

"_So, what do you and Robin want to talk to me about? It must be important I guess."_

"_I can't tell you at the moment, you will soon find out, and yes, it is very important to only us three." The lift arrived, and we got into it. I pressed the second to bottom button. For a few second, my stomach was in my mouth, until we slowed down to a crawl, which was followed by the opening of doors._

"_This way." I called to him. I stood out of the lift and turned right, heading to my room. I looked over my shoulder and the lieutenant was still there. I approached the door and knocked on it. Robin opened it and greeted the lieutenant. I looked at the bottle of whiskey. It was now just below the label height._

"_Good, you didn't drink all of it. Come in lieutenant."_

"_Call me Brian." He took a seat around a table and Robin and I did the same. "So, what is this all about then?" Robin looked at me and I knew that it would be me doing the talking._

"_We know that you are a captured, a prisoner still being held from the SAR. Yesterday, I eavesdropped into a conversation in the Hispania Café. They were two SAR agents and mentioned yours and my name. The problem is, is that they also had guns, and they didn't mention Robins name. Do you know anything about this?" He didn't look any different._

"_Well, this may come as a shock from you, but I am not captured. I am I spy and have been working here with the Maverix for a few months. Two days ago during a patrol, I needed to make contact with SAR. I activated my homing device and headed for Malta. The homing device tells SAR that I am on their side. When they receive the signal, I am allowed to take off my clocking device without a shot being fired upon me._

"_Whilst on Malta, I picked up two agents who sheltered in my cargo hold. When I got back to the Hispania, I told them to go through the equipment dealer's room to avoid the detectors." I nodded at Robin. "I haven't made contact with them since, so thank you for confirming that they are still alive. So, what did you hear from them?" I tried to think about what I had heard earlier on today._

"_They said something about and extraction at ten, then they went on to say a convoy is waiting, and tens something about an operation. Operation genesis I think it was." The look on the lieutenant's face was concerning._

"_Are you sure they said genesis?" I nodded. Brian brought his hands up to his face and rubbed them through his hair. "I f you are right and they did say genesis, then we are in big trouble. 'The convoy' is the codeword for an army of cap ships as you may know, but the genesis army is by far the biggest ever built. There are over three hundred cap ships in it." I swore, just like Brian did in the interview "They will be coming from Omicron Theta, as genesis is based in the Omega sectors. Half of them train in the remains few pockets of gas fields that the mining guilds have all but cleared. Now, it is almost open space apart from the few asteroids still lurking around. The Bundschuh and the red Hessians have been eliminated from these sectors. Well, I suppose I shall just call them the Maverix, shouldn't I." we sat in silence for a bit, until Brian once again broke the silence. "In the battle about to come, SAR will definitely triumph. Let's just hope the nomads don't appear. Oh, may I add this. Please do everything that I say In the battle." I asked him another question before he left._

"_What did the agent mean about the extraction?" he paused. I looked at my watch. It was ten to ten._

"_At ten o'clock, my agents will steal a ship from the hanger and uncloak at Malta. They will be expected to arrive at about five to fifteen minutes past ten." I shook his hand and he left. I looked over at Robin and he caught my glance._

"_That is good news I guess. Thank god we have a way out of here." With that, robin stood up and walked up to the door._

"_I'll see you tomorrow." I raised my hand and gestured a goodbye signal._


	7. Chapter 7: The Great Escape

_Chapter 7_

_The battleship food was worse that the stuff on the Hispania. I stared at the grey glob hanging off the end of my fork. It was meant to taste like organic meat from Malta, but after many years in storage, it ended up tasting like a cardamined pet. I checked the time. Not long till launch. I finished the food, somehow, and relaxed on the chair, waiting for Robin to arrive. When he did arrive, Brian was with him._

"_Got a hangover?" I smirked at him. He nodded in agreement and headed for the bathroom._

"_Just looking for some pills, if you don't mind" Robin replied. I didn't say anything and turned my focus to Brian. He wasn't looking to pleased either._

"_I've got some good news, and some bad news." I huffed at this._

"_As Usual then!" Robin shouted from the bathroom. _

"_The good news is that the SAR knows what battleship we are on." There was silence, as we waited for the bad news._

"_The bad news is that we have to get out before the torps hit." Robin had come out of the bathroom with a cupful of water in one hand and a pill in the other._

"_What do you mean before the torps hit?" he said curiously_

"_They launched over 1000 torpedoes, all heading towards the Hispania." We all stood there, silently, with our mouths half open. "The ETA is 1 hour, 37 minutes."_

"_But we launch in 2 hours!" I protested._

"_That's the problem." We all stood there in silence, again. I sighed. There has to be a way to get out of the here, preferably alive. I started thinking of ways of getting out, most of them ludicrous, involving killing everyone on the station with a plasma rifle._

"_I've got an idea!" Brian suddenly announced. "If we can find a way of disabling the defences, we have our way out!" There was silence as we both looked at them with a dumb expression._

"_Well done!" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Everyone was staring daggers at me. "What!?" I questioned. They were still staring at me._

"_No need for the sarcasm. We need every thought we can get." I was tempted to tell them about my 'rampage' of the station, but refrained. _

_We continued like this for a touch over an hour, with all of us committed to deep thought. I was examining parts of a military guidance book, which I found in one of my metal filing cabinets. My eyes glanced over many useful things, which I though could come in hand. Then I came across another article, which seemed reasonable for this situation; Extreme Extraction. I read it aloud._

"_Here, listen to this. 'Base defence weapons are activated from the main console centre, usually located on the bridge' which we cant get to 'but whenever this option isn't available, a large enough explosion, or an EMP should knock out the systems for a while. This gives the advantage for an extraction." I licked my lips, to re-hydrate them_

"_Could work," said Brian, "But how do we get the large enough explosion, EMP is out of the question as we have none." Straight away, an idea came into my head._

"_We have novas. We could blow the Shakespeare." There was a bit of silence, as we all thought for a minute. "Then we could blow the plasma field, to cause real havoc." Robin was still not convinced it would work, but Brian was nodding in agreement._

"_Fair enough," Said robin eventually, as he shifted his facial expression. I started to think about how we would get to our ships, without being seen out of our quarters. What about if we just legged it? If we did get seen by someone, we would probably be shot on sight, as everyone would know we were captured prisoners._

"_You know" said Robin "If we used the pipes, it would get us straight into the hanger." Brian was still in deep though._

"_But we would have to climb down them; a sheer drop, with not footholds!" I said, remembering that we were several decks above the hanger. "If one of us fell, that's it; five decks would instantly kill us." Brian was paying attention, when he said something that caught our attention._

"_Ropes, we can use the ropes. There are no footholds, so it'll have to do." Brian said, instinctively. "But where would we get ropes long enough to reach 5 decks?" I got up and walked over to my bunk, and flipped the mattress over. Underneath the mattress, a single rope criss-crossed all over the frame of the bed, to hold up the mattress._

"_That will reach about 3 decks. Robin, go and get this stuff from your room, then we'll have enough." I lobbed a bag at him. "Put it in here to avoid suspicion." He left the room with the bag slung over his shoulder. _

"_Right, where will we pop up, under our ships or the other side of the hanger?" Brian asked. I started to think for a minute, about when we were shown around the battleship, through the hangers and engine decks. Then I remembered something I saw in the hanger."_

"_It may just be that hatch, dead in the centre of the hanger." I went back to reading the manual. I found it quite interesting. Then robin came in, panting."_

"_What's up?" Brian and I asked, in unison._

"_I think we've got company! I've stalled them by jamming the lift doors, but we got to get out of here!" he ran back into the corridor. I noticed he had no rope. I ran out of the door with the rope looped over my shoulder. Robin rammed the door of the restroom, and by the time I was in, he was already prising the hatch for the pipes. I heard the warning tone for the elevator._

"_They aren't far off, hurry up!" Brian barred the door with a loose lead pipe. Robin was crawling through the tight space. I followed feet first. When we were all in the cramped space of the service areas, Brian closed the hatch behind him. It went pitch black._

"_Ahh…Shit." Robin whispered. We then heard the door smash open above us._

"_Where did they go? I swear I saw them come in here!" we were all listening to the men a few inches away from us._

"_Come on, let's go." Robin said. He fumbled his way through the dark space. I followed, trying to be as quiet as I could. I couldn't see a thing, but after a while, Robin started to use sound as guidance, by tapping on the pipes below us, and following the vibrations, to see if there were any sudden changes in sound loss, meaning a corner, or the drop we were expecting soon. I was being guided by his foot and the same with Brian on my foot._

"_Wait a minute!" Brian suddenly announced and we all stopped. Suddenly the long tunnel was filled with a dim light for a few second. "We can use our watches for light." I felt around my wrist for my watch, and pressed the button on the top. The glare was very bright, having been in a dark space for a long time, and the watch being right in front of my face._

_We studied what was in front of us and then moved on, before turning the watches on again. I looked at the time._

"_We only have about 15 minutes, get a move on!" Robin quickened the pace in front of me and I followed as best I could. The space was just wide enough here to fit my shoulders through._

"_Found the drop!" Robin shouted. "Cant see the bottom though" he turned the light for the watch on, and he started to climb down the pipes at the side, until they stopped, and disappeared into the wall._

"_Pass down the rope." Grabbed the dropped rope, and handed it to him. He tied it to one of the pipes. "Right, I'm going down. When I get down there, I'll tie the rope to something. There are bound to be pipes near the hatch, and then come down." He started to climb down_

_I noticed his watch light up a few times, each time getting lower, until he shouted up to us_

"_I've got it!" I waited a few seconds before he finally whispered up to us._

"_Ok, clear!" I quickly clambered over the edge, and climbed down to the rope. The drop seemed infinite, and it seemed and felt like a ventilation shaft, with smooth sides and a constant draft. I curled the rope over my foot, and started to lower myself downwards. It only took a minute to get down, but now we only had 10 minutes left. Brian was on his way down. I was surprised that the rope managed to reach this far._

"_I'm going to try and find that hatch" I announced. Robin nodded and he stayed clung onto the pipe. I clambered down the pipe to another crawl space. It didn't take me long to find it. This hatch was regularly maintained by the looks of it. There were lights. It didn't take long for Robin and Brian to follow. But they noticed my worry._

"_I think we are expected…"_


End file.
